Demob Happy

Love that haha sound

8/10

I was initially wary of this band and its art school contemporaries (see Stereolab) but this really is something special. Out of the often-abrasive acoustics and kaleidoscopic aural sludge evolves melodies that are sweet and eerie in equal parts. Combining live-instrumentation with fairly glitch-free but sometimes punishing and industrial soundscapes, Broadcast’s album provides an unlikely missing link between the Doris’ forgotten ‘Did You Give the World Some Love Baby’, Add N to X and the Cocteau Twins.

Opener ‘Colour Me In’ is all distorted retro, like playing Nico-era Velvet Underground underwater on an old 78rpm turntable. ‘Pendulum’ is an electroclash stomper sang in deadpan, faux-naïve vocals, a trick winningly repeated on the rollicking, shimmering ‘Man is Not a Bird’. ‘Before we Begin’ is dream pop akin to the Cocteau Twins (but sung in a real language), buoyed by massive reverb effects on the live drumming. Another highlight is ‘Ominous Clouds’, a doo-wop melody to rival any other set over surprisingly effective metalic buzzes and hums and a shuffling rhythm. The album tails away somewhat towards the end with some slightly more meandering material, but the overall effect of the album is one of great achievement – one of the finest of 2003.